It's been a whirlwind here lately, and I don't mean the weather.
School started and I am now taking two classes - Contemporary Math and Introduction to Chemistry which includes a three hour lab one day per week. This year I'm paying out of pocket (last year I did too, but I had more pocket to dig in), and it's expensive! Some days I'm not even sure if it's worth it, but I do want to learn, so I slog through it. Easier said than done. I'm pleasantly surprised by my Chemistry course average so far - a 93 - even though it's easily the worst combination for my brain (difficult math and seemingly random symbols). It doesn't help that everyone is eight years my junior and "just did this stuff last year." I expected to do well in Contemporary Math, as it's very easy, and so far, I'm not disappointed. I am maintaining a 99 in that course.
As soon as school started, I practically abandoned the garden. I was supremely disappointed in how my garden did. I think the first (and foremost) problem was that I chose a very bad spot. One end received far too much sun and the other nearly drowned in water. I chose my plants carefully because I suspected this, but I wasn't prepared for the harshness of it all. The peppers didn't do much of anything until very recently. The only reliable plants were the green beans (and much later, the purple podded pole beans), the carrots, the snow peas, and the herbs. There is some garlic growing, but it was only planted this summer, so it won't be ready until next year.
So I'm left considering my options. Should I grow a garden? I know my grandmother was not happy with the way I kept it (too weedy), so moving from that bad area could be a challenge. I also disappointed myself with my own struggles against laziness in the last stretch. I was so good (out every day to check, weeding fairly regularly, etc.) from March through about September, but then I lost my drive for the care and upkeep. It doesn't help that I feel limited by my own skills and my want/need to please my grandmother.
Some to-dos are still left, and there's no telling when or how I'll accomplish them.
- I really really wanted to finish cleaning out and then installing the pipes for the rain water tank. It held some kind of food grade goo in it, but there's still a small residual amount left and it needs to come out. I've been trying all summer to find someone with a power washer to borrow, but I'm having a hard time getting people to help. I may break down and buy one.
- I really really wanted to build a chicken coop for chickens in the spring, but who knows now? My grandmother is not so keen on the idea and believe it or not, sometimes I find her intimidating to ask.
- I need to weed the strawberry patch before it goes to bed for the winter. It looks tremendous now that I stopped pinching off the runners. Only spring will tell if I've done harm.
Until next time,
Showing posts with label The Gardens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Gardens. Show all posts
It's Official: Cortlands!
I've always thought apple trees in bloom were beautiful, but I've always thought that apples (and all you can do with them) were even better.
I have fond memories of buying bushels of apples in September to keep in the shed. Then Mom would bring in a bunch at a time and peel and slice and dice and make the whole house smell of apples and cinnamon. She'd make apple sauce and apple butter. Sometimes she'd add little cinnamon hearts to the applesauce and turn it pink. For weeks we'd have apple pies, apple Brown Betty, apple pan dowdy, apple cobbler. Sometimes she'd dry the apple slices too.
I think we liked best when she'd peel the apples with her knife, deftly removing the entire skin in a corkscrew. She'd put these in a bowl and how we loved them! We'd sit at the table and snack away!
Armed with these memories and my desire for more self-sufficiency, I convinced Gramma (property owner) to let me get apple trees! I spent a good long week considering everywhere on the property that I could plant a few, and I started research on types. After a long week of research, I talked it over with Mom, and we both agreed: Cortlands!
Not only are they Mom's favorite cooking apples, they are self-pollinating (very rare in the apple world), and were developed right here in New York State! They are a cross between the ever-popular McIntosh and the less known Ben Davis. They are known for their excellent multipurpose flesh and as fair keepers.
I'm planning on planting two in the spring about a foot inside the property line. The neighbors have some pines along there, but there is a nice gap where two will fit nicely. I asked our lovely neighbor and she said she wouldn't mind at all! I promised her I'd share when they started producing.
Even though there's years until a decent crop will come in, my mouth is already watering.
Until next time,
I have fond memories of buying bushels of apples in September to keep in the shed. Then Mom would bring in a bunch at a time and peel and slice and dice and make the whole house smell of apples and cinnamon. She'd make apple sauce and apple butter. Sometimes she'd add little cinnamon hearts to the applesauce and turn it pink. For weeks we'd have apple pies, apple Brown Betty, apple pan dowdy, apple cobbler. Sometimes she'd dry the apple slices too.
I think we liked best when she'd peel the apples with her knife, deftly removing the entire skin in a corkscrew. She'd put these in a bowl and how we loved them! We'd sit at the table and snack away!
Armed with these memories and my desire for more self-sufficiency, I convinced Gramma (property owner) to let me get apple trees! I spent a good long week considering everywhere on the property that I could plant a few, and I started research on types. After a long week of research, I talked it over with Mom, and we both agreed: Cortlands!
Not only are they Mom's favorite cooking apples, they are self-pollinating (very rare in the apple world), and were developed right here in New York State! They are a cross between the ever-popular McIntosh and the less known Ben Davis. They are known for their excellent multipurpose flesh and as fair keepers.
I'm planning on planting two in the spring about a foot inside the property line. The neighbors have some pines along there, but there is a nice gap where two will fit nicely. I asked our lovely neighbor and she said she wouldn't mind at all! I promised her I'd share when they started producing.
Even though there's years until a decent crop will come in, my mouth is already watering.
The photo belongs to Jonathan on Flickr.
Until next time,
Wonderful Rain!
We got a wonderful rainstorm on Monday. A couple of inches all together, and weren't all the plants just wonderfully happy! Me on the other hand? I was certainly grateful for the rain. It started as soon as I finished watering the entire garden. That's always the way though isn't it?
Gramma's amaryllis bloomed again. None of us have ever seen an amaryllis bloom in the summer! I was just reading a care article that stated that if kept in an evergreen state (where the leaves are allowed light and water all year instead of storing the bulbs for the winter), amaryllis will continually bloom. Plants are boundlessly interesting aren't they?
When I had decided that none of my pepper plants (from seed) where going to grow in time, I bought some pepper plants from the nursery. This is one of them, and its already got this beautiful little pepper on it! I can't wait to taste it, but it's got a little more growing to do.
The Boston pickling cucumbers are growing. Just a few so far, but there are lots of flowers and buds.
A handful of blueberries that I pulled off yesterday. They were a little tart still, so I'll be waiting a little longer to pick them. The second bush is going strong now that we caged it away from deer and bunnies.
We got our first yellow squash just today! We fried it up with some onion and zucchini (from the farmer's market) and was that ever good! (We also got corn, canadian bacon, cucumbers, peaches, and red onions. Yum, yum, yum!)
These are the garlic heads, going to seed. They're even growing already! We learned from a farmstand at the market that in order to get bigger heads, we need to pinch off the scapes when they grow. That will prevent all the energy from going into the seed and instead encourage it to grow larger bulbs! Guess what we'll be trying next year!
Until next time,
Gramma's amaryllis bloomed again. None of us have ever seen an amaryllis bloom in the summer! I was just reading a care article that stated that if kept in an evergreen state (where the leaves are allowed light and water all year instead of storing the bulbs for the winter), amaryllis will continually bloom. Plants are boundlessly interesting aren't they?
When I had decided that none of my pepper plants (from seed) where going to grow in time, I bought some pepper plants from the nursery. This is one of them, and its already got this beautiful little pepper on it! I can't wait to taste it, but it's got a little more growing to do.
The Boston pickling cucumbers are growing. Just a few so far, but there are lots of flowers and buds.
A handful of blueberries that I pulled off yesterday. They were a little tart still, so I'll be waiting a little longer to pick them. The second bush is going strong now that we caged it away from deer and bunnies.
We got our first yellow squash just today! We fried it up with some onion and zucchini (from the farmer's market) and was that ever good! (We also got corn, canadian bacon, cucumbers, peaches, and red onions. Yum, yum, yum!)
These are the garlic heads, going to seed. They're even growing already! We learned from a farmstand at the market that in order to get bigger heads, we need to pinch off the scapes when they grow. That will prevent all the energy from going into the seed and instead encourage it to grow larger bulbs! Guess what we'll be trying next year!
Until next time,
Everything is Blooming!
The cucumbers finally set flowers, and we are so happy! Anxious is more like it. They are climbing and sending out their little climbing tendrils, so they must be a vine-type. Gramma was concerned that she'd never seen a cucumber that wanted to climb, but the neighbors have climbing cukes too. These are also pickling cucumbers, because I've always wanted to try dill pickles. Mhmm... my mouth is watering just thinking about them.
The yellow squash are setting flowers like no one's business. Mini squash are growing, growing, growing! I am very glad I gave their plot extra compost this year, the plants are going to need it if they keep going like this! Gramma's yellow squash got aged horse manure and they're just as happy.
On Sunday after church I went to Rachel's house and got to use their new pool! It's 14' diameter by 42" deep and it's fabulous. We were in it for five hours, almost. Halfway through we were out and wandering around the yard for a break. I love going to their house. They have a real farm, with cows and sheep and chickens! They have a huge garden this year and Momma R and Rachel's sister Kate were snapping the ends off green beans. They let me reach into the bag and munch as many as I wanted. They also shelled peas yesterday, but I wasn't there for that (I did eat a few peas too though). Rachel also showed me their black cap bushes. I'd never heard of black caps, so I looked them up. They're wild black raspberries! They were good too.
Swimming yesterday wore me right out! I went home, made some dinner, changed into my pajamas, and was asleep on the couch by 7:30!
I noticed yesterday (the 17th) that the tomatoes have their first buds forming! I had just about written them off as failures. Three months and two days since I first poked the seeds into the potting soil, they are finally setting flowers! I just about danced yesterday when I found them.
The horseradish just wouldn't give up, so I let it grow, behind the log. I don't like horseradish at all, but others in my family do. I might even try to make some sauce out of it for them.
The last of the peas are drying on the vine. I will save these for seed next year.
The carrots are growing well. I wanted to check on their size, so I pulled one. They still have some growing to do. Our immensely rocky soil doesn't seem to be deforming them yet, but they are small.
Until next time,
Hot Days at Sweetgrass
Coming off our week of near-constant rain, we've had a week of constant sun and humidity. It's consistently run 80 degrees with 75+ percent humidity. The tomatoes are loving it, but I'm not. I won't complain though, I can work through it. It's mom that seems to have trouble with it, but she's always run a little hot anyway. I re- discovered the four pepper plants that I bought a few weeks ago. I had completely forgotten their poor existence. I watered the droopy things today and I hope they'll make a turnaround soon. They've even got little peppers a-growing.
I also finished weeding and mulching my strawberry patch. I've picked off all but one runner because I couldn't bring myself to, it's growing so strongly. I did separate one mini plant from its runner and planted it. I couldn't find straw in the hardware/feed stores, how weird is that? So I raked up the dried grass from the last lawn mowing and used that. It'll break down faster than straw, but it will work for now. I also scraped up a bunch of the dry grass for the compost to help dry it out.
Plenty of peas are ready for picking! I have to leave some on to mature so I'll have them for next year, but it's so hard to do. Fresh peas taste so good! No wonder I've never liked frozen peas. Blech! I know to stake them better next year. I'm picking up lots of plant to get a few pods underneath.
The yellow squash are loving this weather. A day or two after this photo and there are already two or three squash a inch or so long.
Here's a photo showing the two squash plants. One gets about an hour of more direct sun than the other, and you can see how it feels about that.
The front one is so not happy. Hopefully as the bushes (next to the squash on the right, not in the picture) grow, they'll provide more filtered light and the squash will be happier in successive years.
That's what's been going on 'round these parts. I have some more fun things coming up (something like five posts in the Drafts folder), so check in soon!
I also finished weeding and mulching my strawberry patch. I've picked off all but one runner because I couldn't bring myself to, it's growing so strongly. I did separate one mini plant from its runner and planted it. I couldn't find straw in the hardware/feed stores, how weird is that? So I raked up the dried grass from the last lawn mowing and used that. It'll break down faster than straw, but it will work for now. I also scraped up a bunch of the dry grass for the compost to help dry it out.
Plenty of peas are ready for picking! I have to leave some on to mature so I'll have them for next year, but it's so hard to do. Fresh peas taste so good! No wonder I've never liked frozen peas. Blech! I know to stake them better next year. I'm picking up lots of plant to get a few pods underneath.
The yellow squash are loving this weather. A day or two after this photo and there are already two or three squash a inch or so long.
Here's a photo showing the two squash plants. One gets about an hour of more direct sun than the other, and you can see how it feels about that.
The front one is so not happy. Hopefully as the bushes (next to the squash on the right, not in the picture) grow, they'll provide more filtered light and the squash will be happier in successive years.
That's what's been going on 'round these parts. I have some more fun things coming up (something like five posts in the Drafts folder), so check in soon!
June in Review
June also has had it's set of challenges as well, but I met with a lot of success!
Strawberries Are still doing well, including those I got from in and amongst my new herbs! Though they are a wild-type and therefore skinny and small. They are producing small berries.
Tomatoes I planted these outside near the first of the month and they almost immediately got powdery mildew. I made up a solution of milk and water and have been spraying it on the leaves of everything that will hold still and so far, it's being kept at bay.
Blackberries & Blueberries Our lone blueberry bush has tons of blueberries on it, so we netted it over. I got cuttings from another blackberry bush and am trying to root them. I got a blueberry bush on clearance for $2.49. It was the only one left and I thought it the perfect companion to our lonely one. I planted the new one a couple of feet from the first one on the last day of the month.
Raspberries The two surviving raspberry bushes have berries growing on them! I bought two more for a total of four. How excited I am for next year's crop!
Peas My first pea flower came out! I can't wait to taste my first homegrown peas! The first peas came out as well, but are too small to harvest yet.
Carrots Still growing tall and strong, but we have very rocky soil, so I'm not sure how they'll grow. Good thing it's an experimentation year!
Cucumbers Grew big and are planted on Gramma's side of the yard. We started with five, but there's four left now. They are growing strong.
Squash Were planted the same day as the tomatoes and are loving this sunny weather. Gramma has a few of these on her side of the yard as well.
Herbs I received Oregano, Mint, and Bible Leaf from Rachel's mom. I bought peppermint. They're all in containers and very happy!
Beans I planted Purple Podded Pole Beans and green beans, but I can't remember what variety right now. They are coming up beautifully. Except that an entire row of the Purples decided not to grow, and something is eating the leaves off every Purple that did come up. The green beans are coming along great though.
Lettuce I dug up all the Amish Deer Tongue lettuce and replanted black-seeded Simpson because the ADT was too close together and didn't form heads, just spindly leaves. I spaced the Simpson out much better!
Structures I also got pallets this month. The first batch was mostly rotted and bad, but I didn't know that before I accepted them. So a friend with a truck and I drove 45 minutes to get them. When we got back she said she had a few more for me. Then I called the local hardware store and they told me I could have all the pallets I wanted. I got a different friend with a truck to get those for me. I'm planning on building at least the framework and walls for my chicken coop! I built the compost with four pallets with some of these.
I keep letting myself get disappointed by other bloggers' success. I keep having to remember that they probably have longer growing seasons than I do. After all, I can't count on the last frost until almost the very end of May! I have all winter to refashion my garden plan with all the experience I'm getting this year and so next year will be better. But, most of all, I am having fun.
A Quiet Afternoon
Despite the fact that there is only one blueberry bush, it grew berries again this year.We were quick to cover them, but as you can see I got the wrong sized net. Oops.
We folded it over four times and it should deflect most of the bird invaders.
Pallets stored out of the rain, ready for projects. There are more on the other side.
Gramma's garlic forming their scapes.
Tiger lilies getting ready to bloom.These have grown alongside the house for as long as I can remember.
They are nearly chest high now. We love them as cut flowers.
Looking down the driveway toward the road.More tiger lilies growing in the front.
In the back and to the left is the white lilac bush.
The stone wall is the 1800's era graveyard containing the bodies
of the family that owned the farm where our property now resides.
It isn't ours and we don't maintain it, but have always felt free to
go in and out at our leisure.
As Gramma says they do make quiet neighbors.
Entering Summer
Baby marigolds growing!
Pea flowers blooming!
Pea flowers on their way!
Carrots (and some weeds) going strong!
Looking down the garden rows. It's just a 30 x 5 garden this year.
Thessaloniki tomatoes growing after an early bout with powdery mildew.
May in Review
I didn't get specific dates for all the activities that occurred during May, so I'll break them down by plant instead.
Strawberries I couldn't get the strawberries to come up by seed, but I'll admit I was a bit lax in watering them too. I got frustrated and gave up on the seeds. Instead I was in Home Depot and spied some beautiful plants there including some already with strawberries! I let my eyes lead my steps instead of my brain and bought three plants. I know they were definitely grown with pesticides and artificial plant foods. On my way home I stopped at a garden center that I'd never been to before and picked up two more strawberry plants, but these ones were separated from an established strawberry bed on someone's land. The difference? No artificial anything. They even made the loamy, sandy soil on site. I chose a spot behind one of the logs we use to mark the driveway's edge and dug them in. They get plenty of sun there and I haven't lost a single plant.
Tomatoes The tomatoes grew vivaciously and I ended up transferring most of them into larger containers, but it was still too cold to set them outside.
Blackberries & Blueberries The sticks produced lots of nice leaves and were doing well, then suddenly took a downhill turn and died. I'm not sure what happened, but I'll try again next year.
Raspberries I transplanted the two bushes I bought and they are doing well. I bought golden raspberries, but they are dead and need to come out.
Peas The peas are growing well and are enjoying all the rain that May is bringing us. I've been weeding them regularly, but as they get bigger, they trump most of the weeds.
Carrots Carrots weren't weeded for a long time because until their feathery leaves came in, I couldn't tell what was carrot and what was grass and weeds. I've decided that next year I will do rows. The scattering method resulted in one very dense spot of carrots and very few in the rest of the designated plots.
Cucumbers I started cucumber seeds, but accidentally left them exposed to the air when they'd just burst their roots out, so their roots dried up and I wasn't able to revive them. I started new seeds.
Squash I started yellow squash and they are growing well. I swear you can see them grow. They gain almost a 1/2 inch per day!
April in Review
Here's a refresher of the goals I posted in late 2012. It's what I wanted to do for the homestead in 2013. I've decided that I'd like to recap each month what I did to further my education and my goals for the property I have now.
So for April this is what I've accomplished:
- Sunday the 14th: Purchased pruners, a mallet, a knife, and rooting hormone from the hardware store. Purchased two 24 inch windowsill containers with drip trays, two large and deep containers for either flowers or tomatoes, and three bags of organic potting soil.
- Monday the 15th: I dug half the garden and freed that half from weeds and perennials. All perennials were relocated to a new area. White daffodils, chives, a peony bush, and what felt like three tons of yucca bush were all moved. The chives were planted in a container and the peony bush was planted on the opposite side of the house. I also removed a lot of rocks from the garden as well as black gardening mesh designed to block weed growth. I obtained 4 blackberry cuttings and 2 blueberry cuttings from my friend, Morgan. Began sprouting Red Wonder Wild Strawberry seeds and Thessaloniki Tomato seeds.
- Tuesday the 16th: I dipped the black- and blueberry bushes into rooting hormone and planted in containers to await outdoor planting upon root growth. Also, I filled a 24 inch windowsill planter with rocks on the bottom, and then organic potting soil, watered well and sprinkled Amish Deer Tongue seeds on top.
- Friday the 19th: I bought heirloom raspberry plants and am waiting until this rash of cold nights passes so I can plant them in the newly designated berry patch.
- Saturday the 20th: The daffodils dug from the garden went everywhere because we had too many. Some in Gramma's flower garden around the well-house, some alongside the deck, and some way up in the corner of our property where we are trying to encourage a tiny maple tree to flourish.
- Sunday the 21st: Yuccas dug from the garden were transplanted onto the front bank.
- Monday the 22nd: Amish Deer Tongue Lettuce and Thessaloniki Tomatoes sprouted!
- Tuesday the 23rd: I transplanted the tomatoes who had sprouted with gentleness and tweezers.
- Wednesday the 24th: I spied the first of the tomato seeds have produced leaves! I'm sure more will be out by tomorrow.
- Saturday the 27th: The rest of the garden was dug and turned. We extracted the catnip and horseradish roots.
- Sunday the 28th: Transferred more tomato seedlings. I've decided they'll go in the garden after all. Planted peas and carrots. Planted my Lily of the Valleys. I don't know if they'll live. Pulled two seedlings from the Amish Deer Tongue window box. They had malformed leaves. The first true leaves on the blackberry bush cuttings have emerged.
*P.S. I didn't receive any compensation for the seeds linked above. I bought these particular seeds from Baker's Creek this year.
Garden Planning
Since I've never grown a garden let alone planned one out, I needed some extra help this year. Through Pinterest I found Smart Gardener and signed up (it's free!). I was able to plan a garden using my zone, plot size, and sun angle.
Then you get to go and add all the vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers you want and arrange them in your virtual garden which will then reflect perfectly how you should lay it out in the real bed. They have a handy feature which allows them to arrange your garden for you based on all the variables. You can move and adjust and make everything perfect for you and your space. If you add a seed variety that won't have enough time to grow, it warns you.
On top of all that they give you weekly email reminders telling you that you should start -something- now.
For first time gardeners, this is great. In fact I could only find one downside... I didn't have enough room in my proposed garden for all the seeds I'd bought.
...bummer.
So, after that crushing disappointment, I re-grouped.
I decided that I'd grow my Red Wonder Wild Red Strawberries, Thessaloniki Tomatoes, and Dill in containers. My Schoon's Hardshell Melons are going to be in a separate raised bed on the front bank (where the most sun is available). The Arikara Sunflowers don't have a home yet, but I'm thinking Gramma's flower garden. The vegetable garden will contain: Blue Lake Bush Beans, Kuroda Carrots, Boston Pickling Cucumbers, Amish Deer Tongue Lettuce, Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce, Cimmaron Romaine Lettuce, Little Marvel Pea, King of the North Peppers, and Early Straight Neck Yellow Squash.
That's it so far, except for the blackberry bushes I'll be transplanting from a friends hillside. They'll go out with the blueberry bush (only one right now, his friend died) in my miniature berry patch.
As an aside about the blueberry bush. It did produce berries last year, but we didn't get any because I didn't know enough then to throw a darned screen over it! The reason it produced without a friend (blueberries need another bush to produce berries) is because there is half an acre of blueberry bushes across the road, owned by the Greenhouse. (It's awesome having a greenhouse/nursery across the road!)
I know it's not a whole lot, but this is where I'm starting and I am content to see what this endeavor will bring.
Then you get to go and add all the vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers you want and arrange them in your virtual garden which will then reflect perfectly how you should lay it out in the real bed. They have a handy feature which allows them to arrange your garden for you based on all the variables. You can move and adjust and make everything perfect for you and your space. If you add a seed variety that won't have enough time to grow, it warns you.
On top of all that they give you weekly email reminders telling you that you should start -something- now.
For first time gardeners, this is great. In fact I could only find one downside... I didn't have enough room in my proposed garden for all the seeds I'd bought.
...bummer.
So, after that crushing disappointment, I re-grouped.
I decided that I'd grow my Red Wonder Wild Red Strawberries, Thessaloniki Tomatoes, and Dill in containers. My Schoon's Hardshell Melons are going to be in a separate raised bed on the front bank (where the most sun is available). The Arikara Sunflowers don't have a home yet, but I'm thinking Gramma's flower garden. The vegetable garden will contain: Blue Lake Bush Beans, Kuroda Carrots, Boston Pickling Cucumbers, Amish Deer Tongue Lettuce, Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce, Cimmaron Romaine Lettuce, Little Marvel Pea, King of the North Peppers, and Early Straight Neck Yellow Squash.
That's it so far, except for the blackberry bushes I'll be transplanting from a friends hillside. They'll go out with the blueberry bush (only one right now, his friend died) in my miniature berry patch.
As an aside about the blueberry bush. It did produce berries last year, but we didn't get any because I didn't know enough then to throw a darned screen over it! The reason it produced without a friend (blueberries need another bush to produce berries) is because there is half an acre of blueberry bushes across the road, owned by the Greenhouse. (It's awesome having a greenhouse/nursery across the road!)
I know it's not a whole lot, but this is where I'm starting and I am content to see what this endeavor will bring.
*As a side note, I was not compensated in any way for this review by the author(s)
of Smart Gardener, I just found it truly helpful and thought to share it.
Spring!
Seeds are (hopefully) on their way, the garden has been raked out of dead leaves. Now it's just pulling the old flowers and the gigantic Yucca bush out of the garden and I'll be ready to sow/transfer. Just over a month until our last frost date!
I don't have a fence, but I'm sure I'm going to need something up. We have plenty of wild bunnies who could use fattening up. I am anxiously awaiting the nursery across the road to fly it's "Open" flag so I can run over and get mulch and some dirt.
We had our first real day of spring on Saturday and it was just glorious. Makes me anxious for the lovely days ahead. The crocuses were poking their heads out of the front flower bed adjacent to the driveway, there's something poking out of the flower garden (my new vegetable garden) it's tulips or hyacinths or daffodils, but I can't tell yet. Too bad they have to go. I'm (not so) secretly hoping that they are daffodils, my favorites. There are buds on the big lilac! I'm praying they don't get frozen off in another hard frost like most years. I simply love the smell of lilac.
I also have the following sewing projects promised:
Apron - Gramma (I'm thinking Quinn's Gathering Apron.)
Flat-Bottom Zipper Pouch - Amanda, purple.
Fix/Mend Zipper on Red Pants - Holly.
Small Curtain for Podium at Work.
And I went yesterday after work to a local fabric shop to look at a fabric for Gramma's apron and Amanda's purple zipper pouch, only to realize after getting halfway there that I was way too tired to be making the drive. I'd like to tell you that I then turned around and made for home, but it's not true. I made my way (slowly) to the shop and discovered it was closed! Color me disappointed.
Feeling a bit more awake, I decided to take a second way home... that I've taken only once before... and I'm sure you see where this is going. I got lost and made it to a town I've never been to before. Go me! I turned around, drove all the way back and found the right road and went home. Jeepers!
I don't have a fence, but I'm sure I'm going to need something up. We have plenty of wild bunnies who could use fattening up. I am anxiously awaiting the nursery across the road to fly it's "Open" flag so I can run over and get mulch and some dirt.
We had our first real day of spring on Saturday and it was just glorious. Makes me anxious for the lovely days ahead. The crocuses were poking their heads out of the front flower bed adjacent to the driveway, there's something poking out of the flower garden (my new vegetable garden) it's tulips or hyacinths or daffodils, but I can't tell yet. Too bad they have to go. I'm (not so) secretly hoping that they are daffodils, my favorites. There are buds on the big lilac! I'm praying they don't get frozen off in another hard frost like most years. I simply love the smell of lilac.
I also have the following sewing projects promised:
Apron - Gramma (I'm thinking Quinn's Gathering Apron.)
Flat-Bottom Zipper Pouch - Amanda, purple.
Fix/Mend Zipper on Red Pants - Holly.
Small Curtain for Podium at Work.
And I went yesterday after work to a local fabric shop to look at a fabric for Gramma's apron and Amanda's purple zipper pouch, only to realize after getting halfway there that I was way too tired to be making the drive. I'd like to tell you that I then turned around and made for home, but it's not true. I made my way (slowly) to the shop and discovered it was closed! Color me disappointed.
Feeling a bit more awake, I decided to take a second way home... that I've taken only once before... and I'm sure you see where this is going. I got lost and made it to a town I've never been to before. Go me! I turned around, drove all the way back and found the right road and went home. Jeepers!
Preparing for Spring
It's hard to believe winter is already (well, almost) past us. I so enjoyed this winter. It was nice to have a winter at all since Virginia doesn't have what I'd consider a real winter season. (This coming from a native Central New Yorker.)
We had plenty of snow accumulation, but now starts the little know fifth season - mud. We live in a river valley, and you know what happens in river valleys? Rain collects there. And that makes mud.
Otherwise I've been gearing up towards planting my garden. I still have to prepare the soil (and buy/gather mulch). And order seeds. I can't believe how long it's been since January, when I was actually ready to order. Mom contributed $75 towards the seed order, so I'm waiting on a check from her to order. I did buy organic (but not heirloom) cantaloupe seeds, but am trying to think of a place to plant them since the proposed garden space certainly isn't sunny enough for melons. I'm thinking the top of the front bank, which would get sun all day except right before sunset.
I've also been talking to a local breeder about getting a Miniature Australian Shepherd dog from her early next year. I'm waiting on an email back so mom and I can go visit them. I've been reading a lot about them and the current contention between Australian Shepherd/Miniature Australian Shepherd/Miniature American Shepherd people. My chosen breeder maintains that her dogs are just slightly smaller than average Australian Shepherds, instead of the Papillion x Aussie crosses Miniature American Shepherds seem to be descended from. Australian Shepherd people are mad because "there is no height division within the breed," which is true. I want an Aussie, but can't have a larger dog right now, so this is an excellent solution for my situation.
I'm so in love with this breed! Who could resist a face like that?
Also on the dog front, I've been training mom's Miniature Long-Haired Dachshund, Bailey in basic obedience. He is smarter than I believed and I am truly enjoying working with him. It's nice to work with a dog again!
Our computer crashed a little while ago, but it up and running after a through cleaning and a hard drive replacement, so that was exciting. iPods are difficult to browse the internet on when you vehemently want to use the computer for it's FULL keyboard!
So, ONWARD TOWARD SPRING!
We had plenty of snow accumulation, but now starts the little know fifth season - mud. We live in a river valley, and you know what happens in river valleys? Rain collects there. And that makes mud.
Otherwise I've been gearing up towards planting my garden. I still have to prepare the soil (and buy/gather mulch). And order seeds. I can't believe how long it's been since January, when I was actually ready to order. Mom contributed $75 towards the seed order, so I'm waiting on a check from her to order. I did buy organic (but not heirloom) cantaloupe seeds, but am trying to think of a place to plant them since the proposed garden space certainly isn't sunny enough for melons. I'm thinking the top of the front bank, which would get sun all day except right before sunset.
I've also been talking to a local breeder about getting a Miniature Australian Shepherd dog from her early next year. I'm waiting on an email back so mom and I can go visit them. I've been reading a lot about them and the current contention between Australian Shepherd/Miniature Australian Shepherd/Miniature American Shepherd people. My chosen breeder maintains that her dogs are just slightly smaller than average Australian Shepherds, instead of the Papillion x Aussie crosses Miniature American Shepherds seem to be descended from. Australian Shepherd people are mad because "there is no height division within the breed," which is true. I want an Aussie, but can't have a larger dog right now, so this is an excellent solution for my situation.
I'm so in love with this breed! Who could resist a face like that?
Also on the dog front, I've been training mom's Miniature Long-Haired Dachshund, Bailey in basic obedience. He is smarter than I believed and I am truly enjoying working with him. It's nice to work with a dog again!
Our computer crashed a little while ago, but it up and running after a through cleaning and a hard drive replacement, so that was exciting. iPods are difficult to browse the internet on when you vehemently want to use the computer for it's FULL keyboard!
Photo from Madaise on Flickr.
Goals for 2013
It's not January 1st yet, but I feel like New Year's Resolutions never really stick anyway, so I thought I'd list a few things I hope to accomplish/do/build in the next year. The goal being to promote my personal skills in providing for me and mine. In slighty particular order:
1. Build a Solar DehydratorI am going to post updates to this list as I complete them (as long as I remember to). I already finished one of my big goals: the composter! I made a compost bucket out of a plastic tote bin with a lid. We finally can begin to reuse the produce refuse, and keep it out of the landfills! Hooray for small victories.
I'm planning on buying this particular book, recommended by Jane at Hard Work Homestead. Her husband and her built their dehydrator and it seems to work wonderfully! Building it will be much easier when I figure out what materials I need to find and purchase.
2. Fence in and Prepare the Designated Garden Space
I've got all the tools to prepare the soil. We have a great assortment of old hoes, rakes, shovels, a wheelbarrow and the like. It will be hard work; our soil is 98% rocks. Not really, but it sure does feel like it whenever you try to dig! Fencing in another beast all together. Deer, chipmunks, squirrels, raccoons, and especially rabbits are very prevalent in our area. Our property backs to the woods, so fencing is important.
3. Plant a Varied Garden, and Harvest From it
I've got a jump on this one with a spread sheet of the seeds and varieties I'd like to purchase. As I add I also make note of prices, days to maturity, and what company offers the seed. Next I need to measure the garden space and create a planting guide based on my zone and individual needs of the plants.
4. Attempt to Save Seed for Next Year
Self explanatory, really.
5. Find a Place to Store Canned Goods Long-Term
There are a few places like the garage and the shed that I have my eyes on, but I need to take temperatures in these areas and keep a log so I can get an average temperature. An average temperature will tell me if I've found a suitable place or not. There is also the far left of the pantry cabinet but it slants funny because it's underneath the stairs. It's hard to get to, but with a little cleaning and rearranging it might be perfect.
6. Obtain Pressure Canner; Can Garden Bounty
I've never pressure-canned, and I don't have one! Go figure. I have my eyes on one from Lehman's I'm particularly interested in. I want to be more self-sufficient, and providing some percentage of our food is a step in the right direction.
7. Render Lard, Sucessfully
I tried it earlier this month. In fact, it was right before Thanksgiving because I wanted to try lard in my pie crust. However I made the small but DRASTIC mistake of not cutting all meat particles from the fat. It ruined the whole thing and stunk up the entire house! I still haven't had the courage to clean out the canning jar I stored it in!
8. Process a Chicken
I want to learn to kill, de-feather, gut, and otherwise prepare for the table, my own chicken. I'm still working on the property owner (Gramma!) to let me have chickens, but it's not going anywhere. I may have to do it somewhere else or bring home one chicken and process, one chicken and process, etc. I am actively looking for somewhere to attend a workshop. They had one last year through the Extension Office, but I don't see one this coming year yet.
9. Homestead Journal
I would truly like to be more vigilant with my journaling. Noting what kind of day (weather-wise) it was and what was accomplished on that day. I think my future children and relatives might be happy to read it, and it'll be nice to look back for myself.
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